Social and Industrial History

The Herbert's Social and Industrial History collection charts the history and development of Coventry and the lives and experiences of its people, past and present. It covers all aspects of life in Coventry.

Who was George Eliot?
George Eliot was the pen name chosen by Mary Ann Evans, a Victorian writer. She chose a male pen name so that her works were taken seriously, in response to an 1856 essay she wrote for the Westminster Review, ‘Silly Novels by Lady Novelists’.

Ribbon weaving was Coventry's main industry from the early 1700s to the 1860s. During this period about half its population made a living from ribbon weaving and Coventry was the main centre of ribbon production in England.

The Herbert has probably the finest collection of woven silk pictures and bookmarks in the country. A few silk pictures were produced in the 1850s and 1860s, but they were made famous by the firm of Thomas Stevens of Coventry, which made their first silk pictures or Stevengraphs, as they called them, in 1879. From then until the early 20th century Stevens produced around 200 different designs.

The particular strength of the costume collection is women’s dresses from 1800 to the 1920s. The overall collection covers the main changes in women's fashion from 1800 to the 1970s. It also includes more up-to-date items such as goth clothing from the late 1990s.